City of Shawano, Shawano County, Wisconsin: Place Profile

A current, primary-source list of the largest employers in the City of Shawano with headcounts was not found.

The City of Shawano is an incorporated city in Shawano County, Wisconsin (Census place GEOID 5572925, ANSI 01584135).

The Wisconsin Department of Administration identifies the city as 'C Shawano', DOA code 59281, in Shawano County.

Shawano is the county seat of Shawano County.

The city covers 6.697 square miles of land and 0.238 square miles of water.

The Census internal point for the city is near 44.777894 N, 88.586019 W.

The city describes itself as 40 miles west of the Green Bay area in northeastern Wisconsin.

The Wolf River runs through Shawano, and Shawano Lake lies just at the edge of city limits.

The chamber's area history says the city, the county, and Shawano Lake are named after Chief Sawanoh, a Menominee chief.

The 2020 Census counted 9,243 residents in the City of Shawano.

The Wisconsin DOA's official January 1, 2025 estimate for the City of Shawano is 9,610.

The DOA estimates a 2025 voting-age population of 7,432 in the city.

The Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 estimate for Shawano city is 9,635, from a 2020 estimates base of 9,247.

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate of total population for Shawano city is 9,236 (+/-46).

The ACS 2019-2023 median age in Shawano city is 38.3 years (+/-2.7).

The ACS 2019-2023 median household income in Shawano city is $56,457 (+/-$3,365), in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars.

The ACS 2019-2023 median value of owner-occupied housing in Shawano city is $127,200 (+/-$17,499).

The city's police department says its service area increases significantly with vacationers and visitors in the summer.

Shawano has a mayor and a Common Council of six alderpersons, one per aldermanic district, each district made up of two wards.

The Mayor of Shawano is Bruce Milavitz, whose term runs to April 2028.

The alderpersons are Brad Keuschel (District 1), Jim Hauer (District 2), Kevin Barkow (District 3), Jack Young (District 4), Linda Meyer (District 5), and John Hoeffs (District 6).

The City Administrator is Eddie Sheppard.

The City Clerk/Community Relations Manager is Lesley Nemetz (715-526-6138).

The City of Shawano is represented by Attorney Keith Steckbauer.

The Finance Director is Isaac Patterson.

City Hall is at 127 S Sawyer Street, Shawano, WI 54166 (715-526-6138), open Monday through Thursday 7:00 am to 4:30 pm and Friday 7:00 am to 11:00 am.

The Common Council meets the second Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers (Lake Room) at Shawano City Hall.

Scheduled 2026 council dates include September 9, October 14, November 11, and December 9, plus an April 21 reorganizational meeting.

Agendas for public meetings are posted online and in public locations as required by state law, with a Zoom option for attending.

The city's 'Agendas & Minutes' link points to a CivicWeb portal at shawanowi.civicweb.net.

The City Clerk's office publishes all legal notices and public meeting notices and administers elections.

The city's official website is www.cityofshawano.com.

City boards and commissions include the Finance, Personnel, and Field committees, Airport Commission, Board of Appeals, Board of Review, Business Improvement District Board, Industrial & Commercial Development Committee, Parks & Recreation Commission, Plan Commission, Police & Fire Commission, Redevelopment Authority, Senior Citizens Commission, City Housing Authority, Municipal Utilities, Solid Waste Management Board, and Tree Advisory Committee.

Public schools in Shawano belong to the Shawano School District (NCES ID 5513620), a PK-12 district of 5 schools.

NCES reports 2,079 students and 148.81 classroom teacher FTE in the Shawano School District for 2024-25.

NCES lists five public schools with a Shawano address: Shawano High (220 County Road B), Shawano Community Middle (1050 S Union St), Brener Elementary (1300 S Union St), Hillcrest Primary School, and LEADS Primary Charter School (both 1410 S Waukechon St).

The Shawano School Board meets at 5:00 p.m. in the District Office Community Room, 1310 S. Union St. (for example, Monday, August 24, 2026).

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College has a Regional Learning Center in Shawano, and the College of Menominee Nation is just north of the city.

Shawano County Economic Progress, Inc. (SCEPI), the county's economic development organization, is at 1263 S. Main Street; its Chief Economic Development Officer is Peter Thillman.

Downtown Shawano has a Business Improvement District with its own board.

Shawano County had 892 business establishments and 10,135 paid employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns).

Shawano County's largest CBP sectors by paid employment in 2023 were manufacturing (2,429), retail trade (1,499), health care and social assistance (1,494), and accommodation and food services (1,431).

Commercial development shifted after 1950 to a strip immediately east of Shawano on Highway 29.

The Shawano Leader is published at 1464 E. Green Bay Street, with its website at newmedia-wi.com.

NEW Media Inc. is at 1464 E. Green Bay St., Shawano.

TCH Daily News is the news site of Results Broadcasting, which covers Shawano County.

The chamber lists the WTCH, WOWN, WFCL, and WJMQ radio stations at 1456 E. Green Bay Street, Shawano.

WTCH (AM 960 kHz), licensed to Results Broadcasting Inc., has Shawano as its community of license.

FM stations licensed to Shawano include WOWN (99.3), WRGW-LP (94.5, Sacred Heart Educational Association), and translators W241CJ (96.1) and W243CM (96.5).

Television station WMEI (channel 31) is licensed to Shawano as its community of license.

The Shawano County Library is at 128 S. Sawyer Street, Shawano (715-526-3829), with branch libraries elsewhere in the county.

ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano is at 100 County Road B, and its emergency department is open 24 hours.

ThedaCare traces its Shawano hospital to the opening of the Shawano Municipal Hospital in 1931.

The Shawano Area Fire Department is a volunteer department of more than 50 firefighters serving the city and the towns of Belle Plaine, Richmond, Waukechon, and Wescott; its chief is Shawn Borlace and its station is at 308 N. Main Street.

The Shawano Police Department is at 125 S. Sawyer Street and is led by Police Chief Michael Musolff.

The city runs a Civic Center at 225 S. Main Street.

Shawano Municipal Utilities is governed by a city commission that typically meets the Monday before council at 4:00 PM in the utilities building.

The city has an Airport Commission, which typically meets the third Tuesday of the month at 4:30 PM.

The City Health Officer is Nick Mau of the Shawano County Health Department, whose office is at 311 N. Main St., Shawano.

The Shawano Post Office building at 235 S. Main St. was listed on the National Register on October 24, 2000; city addresses use ZIP 54166.

The Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is at 1263 S. Main Street and represents more than 400 businesses and organizations in Shawano and Menominee Counties.

The Shawano Main Street Historic District, roughly East Division Street and South Main Street, was listed on the National Register on April 9, 1999.

The historic district nomination counts 47 late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century commercial buildings, 13 of them non-contributing.

Shawano Lake is a 6,215-acre lake with a maximum depth of 39.5 feet, public boat landings and a public beach; its fish include musky, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, panfish, and sturgeon.

The 83-mile, crushed-stone Mountain-Bay State Trail connects the Wausau area with Green Bay through Shawano; the trail has a short gap in the city near the Wolf River, where local roads are used.

The city reports 24 parks and miles of hiking and biking trails.

Sturgeon run up the Wolf River to Shawano, typically in April, and the city hosts a public Sturgeon Cam.

The Parks & Recreation Department is at 220 E. Division Street and is directed by Matthew Hendricks.

Thursdayz @ Franklin brings free live community concerts to Franklin Park every Thursday evening from June through August.

The Naberhood Block Party runs June through August, with family features on Tuesdays and local music on Saturdays.

The Shawano Flea Market is held at the Shawano County Fairgrounds, 990 E. Green Bay St., on Sundays in the fall of 2026 (for example, September 20, 7 am to 3 pm, $2 admission).

Shawano Downtown Octoberfest takes place on Main Street on October 3, 2026, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

The FRESH Project Shawano Farmers Market meets Saturday mornings, 8 am to noon, at Franklin Park.

The 2026 calendar lists an Annual Homecoming Parade (September 25), a downtown Christmas Open House (November 6-7), a Holiday Stroll and Tree Lighting (November 28), and a downtown Santa Parade (December 4).

Euro-American settlement began with small-scale logging and trading in the late 1840s at the outlet of Shawano Lake into the Wolf River.

A compromise between two early settlements placed the Shawano County courthouse, built in 1857, between them.

The Green Bay-Superior Military Road, completed in 1871 along the route of modern Highway 29, opened the pineries and fixed the location of the commercial district.

Shawano was incorporated as a city on March 12, 1874.

National Register listings recorded under Shawano: Lincoln School at 237 S. Sawyer St. (2013), the Shawano Main Street Historic District (1999), and the Shawano Post Office (2000).

Highway 29, known locally as Green Bay Road, is the main east-west corridor through Shawano.

The Public Works Department is at 2905 E. Richmond Street, directed by Michael Mahloch.